Consumers have in the past used absorbent sheets impregnated with topical compositions for a variety of purposes. For example, wipes impregnated with cleansing compositions are frequently used to conveniently wash hands and face while traveling or in public or anytime when water and soap are not readily accessible. However, the cleansing compositions impregnated into these wipes are often harsh to the skin or leave an undesirable sticky skin feel when applied to the skin. Consumers would prefer to use wipes which are not harsh or drying to the skin and which do not leave a sticky skin feel.
Wipes which provide a cleansing benefit, but which are not harsh or drying to the skin have been disclosed in the art. See, for example, EPA 613,675; Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products; Published Sep. 7, 1994 and WO 95/17175; The Procter & Gamble Company; Published Jun. 29, 1995, both of which disclose wipes which are impregnated with oil-in-water emulsion compositions.
Unfortunately, in order to impregnate a topical composition, including an oil-in-water emulsion composition, onto a wipe, and in order to ensure release of the oil from the wipe, the composition must have a water-thin viscosity. Oil-in-water emulsion compositions which are water-thin in viscosity are often very difficult to stabilize. As a result, when these water-thin oil-in-water emulsion compositions are impregnated onto a wipe, the emulsion may tend to separate. When the wipes are packaged together in a stack, the aqueous portion of the emulsion can sometimes sink to the bottom of the stack, while the oil portion of the emulsion stays on the top. This separation can be further accentuated by the wipe itself, which can act as a filter to accelerate phase separation of the emulsion.
It has now been found however, that water-thin oil-in-water emulsions which are suitably stable can be prepared by ensuring that the oil-soluble moisturizer comprising the oil phase of the emulsion has a particular mean particle size and by incorporating particulates into the emulsion composition. The particulates can be selected so that the emulsion compositions into which they are incorporated can provide an antibacterial benefit.